Smarter Cities, Smarter Parking?

The technology around us that we use regularly and daily is growing smarter by the day, but have you thought about how smart the city you live in might be getting? Most average people are on their phones, tablets, televisions, computers, or laptops at least daily. The public-utilities and parking infrastructure of modern cities has not seen a major innovation in recent years, but Sensus, an internationally-based technology company, is looking to change that by offering the Internet of Things. This “Internet” is a wireless-based web of technology-based “Things” for the utilities industry, including different water, electric, and natural-gas meter monitoring devices, as well as different street and city lighting control products. These kinds of products are essential to overhauling the basic infrastructure of parking lots and garages to lower utilities use, costs, and impact on the environment.

Sensus’ FlexNet wireless-communication network is offered to measure, monitor, record and transmit meter information for water, electricity and natural gas, as well as remote management and service control. This includes restoring power, live readings, and upgrading services. This is done over the FlexNet network, which is a federally protected radio spectrum controlled by Sensus. Another non-licensed version of the radio network called Sensus RF is offered for individual battery endpoints, to suit different kinds of applications. By removing the necessity to read meters and do most services on-site, road congestion and exhaust gasses are heavily reduced. This kind of system will help keep your facility monitored and serviced more frequently, and reduce unnecessary foot traffic for the area.

When it comes to lighting up the city, Sensus is innovating in that area, and of course, this includes parking garages and lots! Their Internet of Things also includes the VantagePoint Lighting Control system. Using the aforementioned secure FlexNet, VantagePoint allows for remote access and control of lighting systems for more effective energy conservation, lower maintenance costs, and quicker customer service. Another helpful feature, in order to aid first responders, lights can be flashed, dimmed, or lit in specific areas.

It seems that our cities are getting very smart through connectivity and easier monitoring and control over power and utilities throughout the world. Sensus offers its products internationally, with multiple distribution and support centers located in the Asian Pacific, European, Middle Eastern, African, North American and South American Regions. What do you think? Should your city or parking lot be smart?